Portugal

canoas

Anyone know some really good cycling places in Portugal. I've been to Algarve, that looked quiet bad in terms of danger, though I never cycled when on holiday. The only area I was advised by a local bike shop was Sao Bras which is inland. As I understand the best road cycling in Portugal is around Sintra National Park (Lisbon Coast) and the Serra mountain range near Covilha. Looking at climbbybike.com some of the grads and climbs match those anywhere in Europe (maybe not as dense as France or Italy).

Has anyone cycled around the above areas? Know the road quality, cycling clubs etc....

I'm looking to buy a property near Sintra or maybe Covilha, that's close enough to the coast. Been a mad cyclist I would consider moving to an area that's popular with road cyclists.

canoas

Well I found this http://www.skyroad-grandfondo.com/serra-da-estrela

So looks like Seia mountains are the best for cycling - Serra De Estrela

borisface

Ex-pat Brit living in central Portugal near Castelo Branco. Cycling is undergoing a bit of a renaissance in PT fuelled partly by the success of Rui Costa and others. The two areas that you mention are quite different. Sintra is close to Lisbon and the coast and there you will find lots of cyclists and clubs. The roads are pretty hilly everywhere except for the Alentejo region. Covilha is not a particularly nice town however it is at the foot of the Serra De Estrela which is PTs highest mountain. Seia is the other side of the mountain but either are a good 3 hrs from the coast/airports. There are 3 or 4 climbs up to the top of the Estrela and they are alpine as they climb up from about 5-600m up to the summit at just under 2,000m - an hour and a half or two.

Some of the roads up to the top are fairly busy, especially that from Covilha and weather can be an issue all year, snow is present until June most years. The link that you posted to the skyroad granfondo well that was abandoned due to bad weather halfway through - torrential rain 5 degrees and strong winds.

Other than the estrelas there are loads of mountains all over the place, roads are very quiet and well surfaced. I can go out for 4 hours do 3000m climbing and hardly see a car. Away from Lisbon/Port corridor cycling clubs are few and far between, my local town has a social mtb club but no road clubs. Seia I think has a club.

Be aware that PT is still very undeveloped and remote towns are very remote - I live 45 mins drive from a decent supermarket. If your thinking of buying something that is cheap will be cheap because its miles from anywhere and/or is a wreck without running water and electricity. Anywhere that's not the Algarve is not the Algarve.

canoas

Nice to see Portugal is under going a upwards cycling curve. Yeah Portugal has some backwards towns without basic modern conveniences. I've travelled to Brazil and some of the some towns are similar but less crime, a major plus! Do you mean Skyroad grandfondo was cancelled short this year or for the foreseeable future? Great to see the climbs; too me the Seia NP looks to mimic the Alps in a lot of areas or Dolomites.

Sounds as though Portugal has some great climbing all around, that's the type of road cycling I like. I've holidayed Lisbon Coast 13 years ago, before I started cycling, I remember cyclists climbing up towards Cabo de Roca, looked hard. Sintra I do remember a bit by car, beautiful national park.

Probably looking at the Green Coast (near Porto) according to Google 2 hours drive to Seia (Porto weather looks quiet cool though and maybe wet?). I don't want to live around the Algarve; touristy.

Thanks.

borisface

The granfondo was abandoned halfway through, hopefully they'll run it again next year. The green coast is green for a reason - they get lots of rain! But the beaches are lovely as is the interior. Its a bit busier up there and lots of ribbon development. The Geres Peneda National Park is stunning - they still have wolves up there. Check out the Geres granfondo http://www.geresgranfondo.com Its a really great event mostly through the national park I've done it twice now. Very well organised and lots of climbing. Miguel Indurain rode this year.

canoas

Geres Peneda National Park - had a read on Wikipedia, looks incredible. Thanks for GF info for Geres. Well I think I'll enter Skyroad Granfondo next year on holidays most likely and pray the weather holds, which like most Alpine sportives is hit and miss.

lostboysaint

Interesting comment about the Algarve. My view from when we were there a couple of years ago was that it was pretty busy around the towns but as soon as you head inland then it really thins out. I was so convinced that there would be good cycling that I'm taking my bike with me on Saturday when I go back!

kidfelt78

lostboysaint wrote:

Interesting comment about the Algarve. My view from when we were there a couple of years ago was that it was pretty busy around the towns but as soon as you head inland then it really thins out. I was so convinced that there would be good cycling that I'm taking my bike with me on Saturday when I go back!

I'm off to Albufeira next Friday so if you're back by then lostboysaint it would be good to know what you thought. From using Google maps and streetview, the inland roads do look pretty quiet.

lostboysaint

Nope, out there for two weeks so may see you around. May post something up if I'm not too busy enjoying it! We're based near Armacao de Pera.

heatonrider

was there for a week earlier this season based in Silves - lovely town and area. Avoid the coast too busy. We had a great time but roads were variable. would recommend Monchique.

lostboysaint

Yep, already planning the climb to there, thanks

lostboysaint

I'm back! A few good rides but lots of things to think about when riding in the Algarve.

- road signs, few and far between so don't rely on them.

- maps - I took the Hildebrand map which is regarded as one of the better ones. It's still not great. The biggest deal is the tiniest difference in print between minor road and trail/track. Be very careful when route planning and it's almost always worth checking against Google Earth.

- roads - you'll hear all sorts of scare stories about Portugese drivers. Ignore them (the rumours, not the drivers!) as our experience was that they are amongst the most courteous in Europe. One angry toot of a horn in two weeks from one impatient old man on the bridge crossing into Portimao was all we heard. Otherwise it was friendly waves (yes, really), plenty of room given, patient overtaking etc.

- Avoid the N125 like the plague. It's a horribly busy road. The rest of the "major" N roads are fine, especially the 124 up to Sao Bartolomeu de Messine and down from Silves to the climb of Monchique.

- take spares - there are a few decent bike shops around (Portimao, Loule, Sao Bartolomeu de Messine) but the range of spares is limited so always worth taking anything that you are particularly concerned about.

- long rides - will take a LOT of planning as it's not easy to link roads up to make anything other than an "out and back". It's worth it when you get it right, however.

- the night ride down from Monchique - DO IT!

- think about what bike to take - whilst the above comments relate to road cycling there's a lot of MTB and CX available. If you are near the coast then it's worth sticking to road or CX. If you're a little further inland and ride MTBs then there's some great trails. A CX bike would allow you to really explore and link a lot of rides up much more easily (you'll see what I mean on the map/Google Earth/Mk 1 eyeball) and although we rode a few trails on our road bikes it's not a plan as they can deteriorate quickly.

In summary it was great. Well worth the £40 that Monarch charged for the bike bag (they were excellent).